


The Spring Breeze in Italy

by residentsheeper



Series: Director AU: Shall we go to the movies? [3]
Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Trans Character, Director AU, Established Relationship, M/M, Road Trips, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 18:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20935121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/residentsheeper/pseuds/residentsheeper
Summary: "I just miss Italy.""Let's go there some time."It was a promise David made to Matteo, while comforting him when they were returning to Berlin from Heidelberg. David really meant it when he said it. He thought it would be a fun little trip down south, but then it sort of become a full blown roadtrip as they plan it out. Setting aside his filming projects and Matteo's game development work, they just escape south to Italy, featuring alleyways, rolling hills, seafood, architecture, cuisine, artistry and David trying (and failing) to speak Italian.Spinoff of the Director AU:And I walk onto the big-screen with You





	The Spring Breeze in Italy

**Author's Note:**

> This fic stems from the promise made by David in Chapter 17 of [And I walk onto the big-screen with You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19103944), and David makes good on his promise to go with Matteo to Italy.
> 
> * * *
> 
> The working title I had for this fic was _Italy goes Davenzi_, because I had a feel that this is a fic about Italy with a sprinkle of Davenzi, rater than the reverse, but bear with me lmao
> 
> * * *
> 
> <del>Also yes, I missed the update of [Immortalise this Moment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257975) for this past Saturday because I planned to post this for last week instead, but since this spiralled into >10k I couldn't finish this on time.</del>

It started as a promise David made to Matteo on their drive back to Berlin, after spending more than a month of just the two of them away from the rest of the world in Heidelberg for David to recuperate from his top surgery as well as for the two of them to have some quality time together. Matteo’s father had called and asked if he would like to go to Italy for Christmas. 

Matteo missed Italy. The last time he went to Italy to visit distant family members on his father’s side, he was just a young teenager. Matteo is not even sure when it was anymore, he must have been fifteen years old at most. The issue is, he does not think he is ready, or would he ever be ready, to see his father again after he walked out on him and his mother when he decided that he has had enough of them. He does not even know Matteo is gay. He was at least partly at fault for the cloud that hung over, and still sometimes hangs over Matteo’s head for the turbulent years at home, and while Matteo does not necessarily begrudge him for that, he does not feel like he has a need or want to see his father again anyway. He and his mothers’ lives have moved on. Matteo is now in his twenties. He has a career of his own. He has David too.

Oh right, David. Matteo did not really think much of the promise that they would go to Italy sometime, as cheesy as it sounds, he thinks the best place in the world is where David is. This means that aside from the occasions that David is travelling for his filming projects, their flat in Berlin is literally the best place in the world he can be, in his own opinion. David, however, has taken the promise seriously, as it turned out, as Matteo woke up one day to an empty bed, only to find David researching places in Italy in the room next door on his workstation.

* * *

It was at the end of summer, when Matteo started to pile on his various sweaters in anticipation of the cooler weather, but somehow, when he padded out from their bedroom to next door, David was sat there shirtless in front of the computer, seemingly focusing on something. Matteo’s eyes lay on the necklace David is wearing, particularly the pedant that is the ring, which is reflecting the sunlight from the window at this moment. He hangs himself on the back of David’s chair, wrapping his arms around David’s bare torso and starts playing with the ring, his face nuzzling David’s curls.

“Hey.” David greets him, turning slightly so he can pull Matteo and squeeze him onto the chair, half on top of him. Matteo goes easily, as David wraps an arm around his waist while he turns the chair back to face the computer screen. David’s body warmth is radiating through Matteo’s t-shirt. He shudders a bit from being wrapped in the warmth and scent of David.

Now that he is looking at the screen, he can see that David is looking up some place in Italy. He leans back onto David as he continues to impede whatever David has been doing before Matteo came into the room. He turns and starts nosing the side of David’s face.

“What are you looking up?” He mumbles, as he is still a bit sleepy. He might possibly fall asleep right here in David’s lap.

* * *

**30 August 2024**

_Freitag 09:54_

David had not really intended for Matteo to find out what he is plotting about, though he has to his advantage a very sleep rumbled Matteo, who is more interested in nosing his face.

“It’s nothing.” He says, as he bookmarks the page he is on before tapping out and turning over to rub noses with the still sleepy Matteo. The fact that Matteo does not continue annoying him about it is a testament to how out of it Matteo is still.

“Is it?” Matteo mumbles, though he is more interested in softly and lazily mouthing David’s jaw. This is Matteo’s usual ploy to get him back into bed, and David is not even remotely surprised by that at this point. He just nudges Matteo, so they can stand up and go back to bed, wrapping his arms around Matteo securely when they are back under the covers, with Matteo’s head tucked securely in the crook of his neck.

He has been thinking about bringing Matteo to Italy, especially since he made that promise to him when they were driving home, after that phone call from Matteo’s father. But really, since they have gotten together, or maybe even before that, Matteo has always had an air of longing when he talked about Italy, or how Matteo sometimes quietly singed in Italian while he was cooking.

David has had wrapped up the filming for the first season of the TV series recently, though he knows that he still has a film that he has invested a lot in to do; and Matteo is tied up with his game development efforts. But he thinks someday, they would find the time again to just check out of Berlin and travel somewhere, just the two of them without a worry for anyone else.

He finds himself going slower and his eyes starts drooping as he plays with Matteo’s hair, and slips back into sleep.

* * *

**18 January 2025**

_Samstag 14:03_

The topic did not come up for a long while since then, and it has been just like it has always been – both of them tied up with their projects, and sometimes David shows up at _Peach_ with take away boxes to make sure Matteo has eaten well, as well as hanging out in Matteo’s space as he unwind, probably sketching another picture of Matteo in his sketchbook; sometimes Matteo tags along to the film set as he hangs out in the background while David works, and annoying him when they eat together, or try to convince him to sneak away when the conditions do not allow for filming; all the times when they are at home, they are inseparable, hanging out in the vicinity of the other if one of them is working, or literally stuck together if they are both could relax and revel in the other’s presence while they act excessively domestic. Of course, there are still occasions where they bicker, or when one of them do not feel themselves on the day, but they work through the issues with genuine love and patience; and there are also occasions where one of them, mostly David, is out of town for work, leaving the other longing at home, but never ceasing to text and FaceTime incessantly to make up for the empty space on their sides.

Winter has come and gone once again, as they have done the customary festivities and parties hosted by their friends, as well as visiting or hosting Mama Florenzi more frequently, but work has always been on the forefront on their minds as they both ambitiously forge new grounds for themselves. Between the business of his work and having Matteo filling most of his time, David finds the little gaps and pockets of time he has to himself here and there to slowly build up a good repertoire of information and ideas about where to visit in Italy. He eventually brings up the topic over lunch at home in a lazy late-winter afternoon, not long after Matteo has got out of bed, as is on brand for his hatred of mornings.

Matteo has been sort of low-key tearing his hair out over the vampire game, he has never voiced it out loud, but David is his boyfriend and they live in each other’s back pocket, so he just knows it for a fact. Not that David has been counting, but it also feels like this has been, since David has come to known him, the longest time Matteo has kept chipping away at his projects, and maybe a vacation is long overdue for him.

“Do you want to go on vacation?” He asks lightly, before eating another mouthful of the stuffed baked potato he recently finally managed to learn making. Matteo just sleepily continues chewing on his serving slowly as he is evidently still half asleep, and David thinks there is nothing more he loves than this sleep tousled soft boy wrapped in a grandpa sweater with his blond shock falling into his face.

Eventually, the question gets through to Matteo.

“Where?” He asks, after he pops the last piece of food in his mouth and rubs his eyes again.

David pretends to think it over, as if he has not had the answer ready on the tip of his tongue, or as if he has not thought about this extensively.

“What about Italy?”

Their flat is well lit, with the winter sunlight filling the room, but if it is even possible, the smile that bloomed on Matteo’s face lit up the room even further, like he is the Sun. In fairness, he is the Sun in David’s life, even though Matteo often calls David an asshole in jest. He nods.

Even though David has about a dozen ideas, he wants to know where Matteo wants to go to, since it is Matteo who misses Italy, after all.

“Where do you want to go?” He asks.

“Everywhere.” Matteo says as he jumps up and heads into their study and returns with his laptop, sliding into the seat next to David as he opens the map and starts pointing at like twenty places at once, or at least that is what it felt like.

When they start really talking about good places to visit, it became increasingly apparent that David knows more about some of the places in Italy than he really should, and Matteo finally connected the dots that he caught David a few months ago, plotting to go to Italy with him. David just dodges and turns his head away as Matteo annoyingly coos that David is a softie for him, until he finally cannot stand it anymore so he kisses Matteo to shut him up.

* * *

_Samstag 16:49_

Matteo lays his head on David’s chest as they come back down from overheating under the covers in the chilly winter air. It might even be snowing outside. Too often an innocent kiss or two between them have them end up panting in bed, Matteo thinks, as he slowly rubs his face against David’s sweaty chest, but can you really blame him? It never ceased to amaze Matteo that he managed to bag David as his boyfriend, and it all stemmed from that day he was being dragged along to the filming set at Teufelsberg and seeing David for the first time there. He would never not want to lay his hands on the hottest guy he has ever laid his eyes on.

“We should plan something.” He mumbles into David’s chest, as David’s hands run slowly down the side of his torso. David hums in agreement, and when he does not move from the very comfortable position on top of David, David more or less manhandles him out of the bed and into their ensuite.

Fifteen minutes later, they are sat back on the bed, the duvet pooling at their waists, as they start clicking and looking at places that they want to visit.

Matteo starts listing off places he wants to go to, while David drops pins onto the map. He is not even aware what he is doing, until he finds David looking at him with a weird look. He looks at the map, and finds that a vast majority of the places he has named are in southern Italy near the coastline. Though there is also a very notable exception. David knows where Matteo’s family came from, the place where he has a very conflicted feeling towards. He misses it, but at the same time it is also where his father ran away to. Many of the places he wants to visit are those they used to drive out from his grandparents’ to when he was but a child. He loves a lot of these places and misses the feeling of the breeze blowing at his face, the vibe of the laidback, slow-pace lifestyle and the stunning surroundings he never got tired of. From the likes of Positano, Atrini, Salerno, to those that are further away like Cosenza, Catanzaro and Bari, these were the places he went to as a kid and wants to go visit again.

David looks at him in silent questioning, and Matteo knows what he is asking, he does not need David to voice it out loud. He slumps his head against David’s shoulder, and David’s finger slides up into his hair to start playing with it, providing him with calm and feeling of contentment.

_What about home?_

Matteo wants to tell David that David is his home, and he knows that David knows that anyway, and the question is not asked in that sense. After a few minutes of silence, relaxing in David’s gentle fingers in his hair and the warmth radiating from his body, he pulls David’s laptop out of his lap and adds a pin to Amalfi. The place he has not gone back to (alongside anywhere in Italy) since his father ran away. David presses a kiss onto his forehead.

After a few more minutes, Matteo straightens up, smiles at David and suggests they should figure out more in detail where they could feasibly visit, and when they should do that if they are really going to Italy. David smacks his shoulder lightly when he said that, as he tells him that there is no “if” in the fact that they are going to Italy.

“I’ve promised you that we are going, so that’s what we are going to do.” He says softly. Matteo’s heart swells, he does not think he can love David more, but he is once again proven wrong.

“Cheesy.” He comments, which elicits a surprised laugh out of David, who shoves him a bit more forcefully, though after a few playful shoves, they start talking about the practical considerations, deciding to go when spring comes around, when David has a break in filming and Matteo is long overdue of a rest (he reluctantly admits that), and that they are probably going to rent a car in Italy and drive down the coast or something to that effect. By the time the sun starts setting early in the evening, they have come up with quite a comprehensive plan of the whats, wheres and whens of their trip, with aid from David’s prior research and Matteo’s knowledge as a half-Italian, though their brains are also quite fried from the intense thinking exercise. Instead of going through the trouble of cooking for themselves, they settle on ordering some Italian takeout for dinner.

“Aren’t you afraid that you’re gonna get tired of Italy?” David asks jokingly when Matteo tells him they are ordering pizza.

“You’re literally living with an Italian, so shut up.” He toots as he continues flipping through the flyer for the place they are ordering from.

* * *

**5 February 2025**

_Mittwoch 12:21_

His tongue stumbles a bit in the first minute or two from his lack of practice. How many times has his spoken out loud in Italian for the past few years? He must have much more fingers than he needs to count that, in retrospect. Despite this, the language comes back to him quickly as he gets into his groove, talking to his grandma on the phone. It must have been at least a year or two since Matteo has called home, as he thinks his grandparents do not even know of David. He asks after how they are doing, how his various younger cousins are faring, and all the while very deliberately avoids talking about his father while his grandma fills him in on everyone. By now she knows to not talk about him too, and Matteo is thankful about that. Eventually she starts talking about the lasagna she used to make for Matteo every time he visited when he was younger, and Matteo has to admit he misses it, as well as misses visiting as well.

“Are you visiting anytime soon?”

Matteo bites his tongue for a moment or two, finding the right words to use, as he has obviously never talked about anything like this in Italian before.

“My boyfriend and I are going to travel to Italy. In spring.”

The next few seconds of silence are maybe the most excruciating seconds in a year, but eventually his grandmother starts talking again.

“You’ve got yourself a boyfriend? My little one, tell me about him”

Matteo has to suppress a smile that is growing on his face.

“His name is David. He is a film director.”

Matteo then is launched into a spiel talking about David and his work and how amazing his boyfriend is, then updating her about his game development studio that he is sure grandma still does not have a good grasp about the concept of, then the conversation jumps into cooking, as they talk about recipes and things that she has to teach Matteo making. Grandpa eventually joins the call as he is being put on speakerphone, and they talk about when Matteo and David are going to visit and what they are going to do. David comes back to the flat somewhere along the lines and looks curious when he hears Matteo speaking in Italian, but after seeing him grinning through the phone call when he catches Matteo’s eyes and after Matteo has waved at him across the living room, David leaves him alone and dips into the study to do whatever he does inside there.

“We can’t wait to see you again, Matteo.” His grandfather says.

“Me too.”

He wraps himself around David when he is done with the phone call, filling him in and tells him that his grandparents are already in love with him. David just rolls his eyes and says Matteo most definitely have oversold David to them and hopes that he did not say anything embarrassing. Matteo just pouts in mock offence, though what David said is probably true. David relents and pecks him in placation.

* * *

**21 February 2025**

_Freitag 18:11_

Since deciding on going to Italy for real and probably travelling through at least the southern part of the country on a road trip, David has been trying to make time to learn some Italian, so he is not generally hopeless when they get there. Though try is an operative word, as he is quite busy with the various filming work now that he has cleared a hole in his schedule for this, plus learning a new language is quite a challenge. Learning behind your boyfriend’s back when he could have helped, given that he is a native speaker, also must not have helped, but David wanted to surprise him. In retrospect, it is really not the brightest idea David has had in his life. He laments the fact that people cannot just download a language pack into their brain.

He is mildly confused, when one day he comes home to Matteo grinning at him like a cheshire cat, until he finds out that he has left Duolinguo open on his computer in the study. He turns around and rolls his eyes at Matteo and has to use all his willpower to not kick his boyfriend in the shin when he starts talking to him in Italian.

He humours Matteo for a bit, until his brain is struggling to catch up with whatever conversation they are having, something about gelatos. He has had a long day and he is not really ready for this. Matteo definitely picks up on this, as he switches back to German.

“Okay, that was probably more than enough.” He says as he bumps shoulders with David.

“Merci.”

Somehow, the French version of _danke_ drops out of his mouth out of nowhere when he meant to say _grazie_. Matteo definitely heard that, as David turns around and sees Matteo’s back, stopped in his tracks and vibrating like he is trying so hard to hold back his laughter. He slaps his ass and mutters _asshole_ under his breath, as Matteo finally bursts out laughing. He ignores Matteo until he more or less climbs into his lap and is up in his face such that he cannot do that anymore.

“Sorry.” He says, though there is still a hint of teasing in the glint of his eyes.

David nudges Matteo’s nose with his own. “You’re so annoying sometimes.”

“It’s just that you are a bit hopeless with Italian.”

David shoves him off to the side so that Matteo lands face first into the couch.

* * *

**7 April 2025**

_Montag 09:20_

Spring rolls around and the weather grows a bit warmer, the city no longer blanketed in white. David has been secretly counting down the days until they can set off on their road trip and have some fun away from the stress of their work. Aside from some typical Matteo procrastination that caused some last-minute panic over packing their bags, it is mostly smooth sailing as far as the trip preparation is concerned. They choose to fly out to Naples given how _far_ it is from Berlin, plus the fact that it is notoriously difficult to either drive down or take the train given that they are separated from their destination by vast parts of Germany, Austria, the Alps and more than half of Italy. It is a quick flight down early in the morning, and David picks up the Fiat SUV they have rented for the duration of their trip. After walking around the rundown city centre of Naples for a bit, taking in the various churches and castles littered among the mix of new and old buildings, they start driving down the national road running along the Gulf of Naples. After leaving the city limits of Naples, the scenery outside the window is replaced by sparser and shorter houses, with fields tucked here and there among houses, though all the way along the coast it is mostly inhabited by people. Eventually, the road turns into a tunnel that drives through the Monte Faito mountain range, before popping back out on the other side, as their car starts to drive along winding roads carved into the side of the mountainous region with small villages and towns here and there along the road. Matteo has more or less turned into a true Italian, as on the one or two occasions he is irritated by the driving of someone else, he mutters something in Italian under his breath, which David is willing to bet money on them being curses. He just lay his hand over Matteo’s on the centre console, as is their habit, and runs his thumb over Matteo knuckles to soothe him.

Eventually they arrive at Sorrento, the first stop of their trip. They find somewhere to park their car, before setting off on foot from the centre of the town, also known by some as the gateway to the group of towns littering the mountainous Amalfi Coast. One of the positives of these towns, David thinks, is that they are mostly small enough that they can walk around them in a few hours before getting on their way again, if they so desire. They start at Piazza Tasso right in the centre of the town, and off to the side, they can see small buildings with a distinct style perched on the side of small cliff edges, as there is a road running through the small gorge some ten or twenty meters below. Walking through town, there are many narrow pedestrian paths running between buildings. The paths must be no more than three or four meters wide, as they are lined by shops selling all sorts of products, some targeted towards tourists, while some are more like daily necessities. The paths are towered over by the buildings such that they are well shaded even though the sun is high up in the sky, and Matteo, who has a notorious hatred for physical activities, is actually looking like he has no issues with walking through all this at all. Between cafes and other shops, they stumble upon a stand that sells fruits, though more than half of them are lemons. He nudges Matteo in the side and whispers he question.

“Why are there so many lemons?” He eyes them suspiciously.

Matteo smirks at him like he knows something David does not, which to be fair is obviously the case, since Matteo’s family is from around the area.

“The region is quite famous for its lemons. We even have alcohol made from lemons.”

“Really?” David is not really sure if Matteo is fucking with him or is he being serious right now.

“When do I ever trick you?” Matteo says with faux-innocence.

“Always.” David mutters.

“Limoncello. My grandma used to make them too, we can see if she has some when we get there this evening.” Matteo says, as he pulls David along so they can continue their journey. They walk past several small churches and cathedrals, as Matteo takes on the role of a tour guide, pointing out things and giving David overviews about the buildings, as they sometimes stop and pop their head inside the buildings to take a look. Some Eventually, Matteo drags him off to some side street, and then down a narrow path before they come up to a lookout point on the edge of the cliff with no one around them. As they come up to the barriers along the edge, David can see the view over the the town with uniformly red-bricked roofs, surrounded by buildings scattered along the mountains, and a view of the Gulf of Naples right in front of them. It is quite a beautiful sight. He can certainly see why Matteo loves and misses this so much.

“It is beautiful.” He says, as Matteo leans into his side.

Matteo perks up with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face. Like he is happy that David shares his passion and love for his heritage. “It is. And the best is yet to come.”

David cocks his head a bit and raises his eyebrow. “Is there something even more beautiful with you next to me?”

He cheers internally, like he has always done, when he sees a blush creep up Matteo’s face, as he just rolls his eyes and try to pretend it is not affecting him. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”

* * *

_Montag 14:31_

David is on the wheel as they again drive along the winding road along the Amalfi Coast, with the mountain on one side, and the sea on the other side. David may have run and travelled a lot, but he does not think he has seen anything as stunning as the scenery along their route. Though this is all nothing when compared to the buildings that are coming into view. He thinks he needs a moment to take a breath, as the sights are simply breathtaking.

“That is Positano.” Matteo is still in the mood of being a tour guide, as he points out their middle stop of the day before they get to Matteo’s grandparents’ place a few towns over.

As the town comes into full view, he can see that it is a distinctly different style, with low-rise buildings that are markedly squarer and with big terraces, like miniature villas of an earlier age, lining the hillside both above and below the road and snuck fittingly right into the landscape. The buildings are much more colourful with a distinct flair that David has not quite seen before laying his eyes on the town. After getting misdirected by Matteo into a wrong turn while they are in search of a parking spot (“I haven’t been here for like eight years!” He says indignantly with a pout.), they finally rid themselves of the car and starts walking around.

David quickly gets dragged by Matteo down an alleyway, then they are down some stairs between buildings he has not even noticed is there. He takes a moment, as he director brain kicks in, to appreciate how the buildings are all built upon a piece of land that is slightly different in height and how the buildings of different heights seem to stagger around them. There are also tiny open spaces where paths meet, and it feels like every single path and space has a little story of their own to tell. There is a dozen of things he wants to draw sketches of, or make a filming shot out of. For a person who has a tendency to get disoriented, Matteo seems like he knows where they are going as they take another turn into yet another hidden path. It also hits David that he rarely gets dragged around by Matteo like this, but being in Italy and in the region where he frequented as a kid, it seems like something innate in Matteo kicks in, almost like there is a new element of happiness in him, and David is so here for it. Suddenly, they walk through a tiny archway and are out on a street again, and Matteo points off to the side where it is a cliff edge, and David sees the high and rocky mountain range wrapped around them, and below them, there are numerous colourful buildings pushed up against one and other like stacks of treasures, all the way from the hills down to the coastline, blending into the various cliff edges and among the trees and greenery that surround them.

“Someone calls this place the Vertical City.” Matteo says next to him. David can certainly see why, given the landscape of the city and how it seems to stack all the way from the beach into the hills. Before he can formulate a response though, Matteo is already dragging him around the corner and they found themselves at a restaurant. The person at the door greets them in English, like they would for any other tourist, before Matteo breaks out his perfect Italian and starts conversing with them instead. David obviously cannot catch what they are talking about other than some of the simple recognisable words, but they then get seated at an outdoor seat, with the view of the building-lined cliffs enveloping the sea right next to them, and off to the side, a beach that David can tell is crowded all the way from up here. They decide on some _crocchette_ and _mozzarella_ going with _Scialatielli ai frutti di mare_ and a cheese pasta that Matteo tells him contains _provolone_, a cheese from the area. The food is definitely different and delicious, as the seafood is fresh, the scialatielli a bit different (“it is made from milk!”), and the food quite delicious, as Matteo asks if David would believe him now if he says he is not really good at cooking (“No, I am pretty sure you will be good at these if you got your hands on their recepie.” Matteo just rolled his eyes.).

They keep making their way down the winding road to the shore, as it gradually becomes more crowded, the streets narrower, and touristy shops start to line the sides of the streets, as they descend closer and closer to the shoreline. Matteo does not particularly care for the touristy things, as Matteo leads him to yet another church by the beach dotted with mats and umbrellas.

“They say this church is founded by pirates after some sort of miracle at sea.”

David takes a further few steps inside the pristine white and gold surroundings inside this full sized and well-lit basilica. He has to admit the insides are quite beautiful, even though neither he nor Matteo often, if ever, step a foot inside churches these days.

“If only the church doesn’t think they have to burn people like me huh?” David jokes, if a bit ill-timed, as Matteo grabs his hand. “You mean us.” David twines his fingers with Matteo’s, as they start walking around the inside of the church.

“What are they gonna do? Kick us out?” David says jokingly to Matteo as he pulls Matteo along.

He focuses on the aesthetics and artistry of the architecture and paintings rather than the religious connotations of it, just like Matteo does. Matteo stops at some of the plaques and boards and translates for David the legend behind the church. When they have enough of it, they exit the church, as Matteo again drags him across the small square in front of the church then onto some path, and then a set of stairs as he points out the scenic views all around them before turning back. They descend the last flight of stairs, diving through a few more narrow pathways before they find themselves on the beach. Matteo gestures at the ropes and fences of the beach.

“Only this small rectangle here is free.” Matteo says.

“And the bourgeois hoards the rest of it all for themselves?”

Matteo nods sagely. “This is truly bourgeois propaganda.”

David just bursts out laughing right there and then, David’s is definitely rubbing off on him and he is loving all of it. They just take a few steps onto the beach, just so they can turn around and take in the sight of the mountain and the colourful buildings towering over the beach, as if the buildings are part of the terrain itself. There is no denying that the view is stunning, mesmerising, even, but also very touristy. They decide they have had enough. By now, the sun is starting to hang low, and David figures they should get on their way sometime soon. For the return trip back up the hill, Matteo takes him on a different way to get to their rented car, as they trek along some winding roads, before Matteo once again drags him through various alleyways and stairs, like he knows what he is doing (which evidently, is true).

* * *

_Montag 18:33_

It is a less-than-an-hour drive from here to Amalfi, though Matteo feels there is a need to spice things up a little for this leg of the journey a little bit. What he really means, is that he feels like the need to annoy David a bit, as David does not have the excuse of Matteo preventing him to drive properly to shut him up. He knows the area quite well, obviously given the fact he used to come here yearly when he was a kid, and he also knows how popular with tourists the Amalfi Coast is, so he starts pointing out every single hotel he can recognise from both sides of the road as they drive along the coastal national road.

He has pointed out at least forty hotels since they have set off, and are currently approaching Conca dei Marini, just the town next door to Amalfi.

“And there is another hotel to the left, and like five more, further up in the hills, because you know, there is never enough hotels for all the tourists.”

He glances over briefly to see David _glaring_ at him, he cannot help but chuckle.

“How many more are you going to point out?” David says like he is trying to stop himself from strangling someone.

“Maybe twenty. We are there after this town.” He says nonchalantly, like he is talking about the weather, or like water is wet.

“Matteo Florenzi.” David more or less _growls_.

Matteo actually pulls off to the side of the road, incidentally a little parking lot next to yet another hotel. He bites his tongue, as he sees David staring daggers at him.

He smiles sweetly at David, playing his get out of jail free card like he always does when he has done something to annoy the shit out of his boyfriend.

David just rolls his eyes at him. “I hate you sometimes.” He mutters under his breath as he turns away. Matteo of course does not accept anything other than the super loving version of his boyfriend, so he leans over in the cramped space and pecks David on his cheek. David just huffs before turning over and capturing Matteo’s lips with his own, before quickly slipping a tongue into Matteo’s mouth and licking around inside, before abruptly pulling back.

At the loss of contact, Matteo makes a whine that does not sound human, nor would he admit to have made ever. He shuffles a bit in his seat, as he is most definitely turned on by David, and when he catches David’s eyes again, he sees David smirking at him. He knows what David is doing.

“We should probably continue on our way soon, the sun is setting and your grandparents are waiting for you.” David comments nonchalantly, though obviously eyeing the bulge in Matteo’s pants with a sly smirk.

Matteo groans as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat for the rest of the short trip, though he shuts up about the hotels as they drive past for the rest of the journey.

They drive through the town center and pulls up to a building slightly away from the little bustle, a building still very familiar to Matteo despite the fact that he has not visited for years, he hops out and first pulls David into a hug.

“Sorry, I was being annoying.”

David kisses his nose. “I love you nonetheless.”

A door near them swings open right at this moment, and Matteo hears a very familiar voice in Italian.

“Matteo! My little one, how tall have you become!” Grandma exclaims.

He turns over and sees his nonni at the door, with slightly more wrinkles on her skin, though he does not think about that. He steps closer and wraps her in a hug.

“Hi, _nonni_.”

“You’ve become thinner.” She tuts.

“No, I haven’t.” He protests, though his grandmother’s attentions have already turned elsewhere.

Specifically, David, who is hanging back by the car.

“And that is David?” She asks with a smirk. And people ask where Matteo’s smirk came from, that’s where.

“Mhm. He speaks shit Italian.”

That does not deter her a single bit, as she just goes and wraps David in a hug like he is her grandchild and greets him in Italian. David, bless him, tries to converse with her in Italian with great difficulty, though Matteo eventually pities his struggles and translates for them.

Eventually, they pull out their bags from the trunk of the car and enters the building.

“Your grandma is amiable.” David comments.

“She might have just adopted you just for your dashing looks.” He jokes. David though, has the audacity to _preen_ at that.

“I know I’m the hottest guy you’ve ever seen.” David says and winks at him. If it is not for the fact there is no one here that understands German, he might have smacked David with his bag. They are given one of the big guest rooms in the house, so they might be the only ones visiting, he concludes.

After a while of settling down and chilling in the room, David skips off to shower before Matteo decides it is too tempting for him to not join David in the very suspiciously unlocked bathroom. They are poking their heads out of the window to look at the scenery of the town center below them, when Matteo’s grandfather knocks and tells him that dinner is ready.

Dinner is a funny affair. It is just his grandparents, him and David, but it somehow transformed into an animated conversation that involves pidgin Italian and English, a whole lot of wild gestures, a lot of laughter, and when all else fails, Matteo becoming the translator for everyone. It is quite a sight to behold, but it also brings immense joy to Matteo as he sees his beloved grandparents once again, and that his boyfriend is getting on quite well with them as well despite the language barrier.

On the food side, his grandmother evidently pulled out a lot of stops for this, as they are all served with sartù di riso, a rice timballo stuffed with cheese, meat sauce, various meat, peas and mushrooms. They also, as expected, have some chilled homemade limoncello. It is a wild fact, but Matteo has only had it once before, as he was still kind of young when he last visited. The taste is as he remembered it, a strong lemon flavour, but is sweet instead of sour or bitter like lemons tend to be. As both Matteo and David quite take a liking to alcoholic drinks that are not beer, they are both quite receptive to the taste of the drink.

Then, as if she has not spoiled Matteo enough, as she then pulls out some sfogliatellas as well. He sees David taking a bite into the sweet pastry, then his eyes light up and actually manages to compliment her about it with a full sentence in Italian.

They hang around the living room for a while more after dinner as they continue their animated conversation, until Matteo involuntarily lets out a yawn, and he and David get herded back into their room for the night. It is still relatively early in the evening, but they have started early and on top of that done quite a lot today. Given Matteo’s hatred for mornings, the effects are only more pronounced.

He sits in bed pressed up against David, who is playing with his hair again.

“It is quite a first dinner with your grandparents.” He muses.

“They love you.” He says while rubbing his face against David’s shoulder.

“Would be nice if I can actually speak Italian.”

“You’re hopeless when it comes to that.” He mumbles. “Merci.”

He does not even have to look to know that David is rolling his eyes.

* * *

**8 April 2025**

_Dienstag 11:08_

Matteo wakes up at a much more reasonable time, at least in his opinion, the next day. He blindly reaches over, only to have grabbed David’s thighs and knocked something out of his lap. David smacks his arm lightly. He open his eyes when he feels David leaning over off the bed to pick up whatever that has dropped to the ground, only to see it is David’s sketchbook. Shifting around a bit, Matteo presses his face against David’s soft abdomen, planning to stay there for the next eternity. That is, until his plan is foiled by David tickling him in his side. He raises a middle finger in the air.

“Fuck you.”

“But you cannot stay quiet, so that’s not happening.” David shoots back. Matteo groans as he forces his eyes open and pushes himself up, so he is sitting next to David, seeing his self-satisfied smirk, as he puts his sketchbook back onto his lap and starts sketching again.

“Stop being so smug.” He mutters, only earning himself a flick on the nose.

“Just stating the obvious.”

Matteo huffs and directs his attention towards David’s sketch instead, and sees that it is one of those narrow and hidden alleys between buildings that resembles those that Matteo has dragged David along just the day before. He does not realise he has zoned out until he sees David’s hand waving in front of his eyes.

“Earth to Matteo?”

“Hm?”

“What are we doing today?”

“Probably walking around or something.”

It is not wide of the mark, as they plan to stay at Matteo’s grandparents’ before setting off on the rest of the way along the coast of southern Italy. After Matteo is finally convinced to leave the bed and get a late breakfast with yet some more more homemade sfogliatella which gives Matteo a sugar high, they set off from the house and start wandering. They are sort of wandering aimlessly, though Matteo is still leading the way when he sees a familiar bend down a side path, dipping through an alleyway and up some stairs and the like. Being higher up and off to the side in the town means that tourists are not really a common sight up here, it is often just locals, which Matteo sort of is one, or straight up no one else. They must have climbed a few hundred small steps squished between houses, but there is a thrill of being here that makes Matteo not mind it as much as he would in any other scenario, especially when they get to the lookout point over the town which Matteo used to come to every time he was here. They are on a narrow path on the outer side of the wall that surrounds some buildings built on the cliffs. It reminds him why he loves this town so much, beyond the fact that his grandparents are here. The town is built into an opening between the mountains, with some being built along the terrain up the hills, but it is nowhere near as imposing as Positano. The vibe is just a tad more laid back and homely, though Matteo is also most probably biased about that. David lets out a _wow_ under his breath when he slides up next to Matteeo and sees the view.

To one side, the azure of the sea with some of the clearest water, in front of them the various old buildings of the town, with the town’s church towel standing tall amongst them, and the lush green rolling hills with some flowers starting to bloom in the spring weather surrounding them.

Matteo sits on the barrier on the path, next to David, while he sees his boyfriend pulling out his sketchbook and starts drawing some outlines of the buildings and landscape. He leans his head on David’s shoulder as David sketches away, enjoying the peace and privacy they have up here. A while later, he starts pressing little kisses along David’s sharp jawline that he would never get tired of, and David finally puts away his things and humours Matteo for a bit, as they lazily trade kisses, sat on the edge of the cliff, with some spring sea breeze blowing at them lightly, the trees and flowers rustling around them.

“Thank you for bringing me along.”

“Of course I would want to share this with you.” Matteo says, as they rest their foreheads against each other, breathing the same air.

Eventually, they backtrack down the path and the various alleyways and stairways, with hands entwined, as they go through a tiny pedestrian tunnel like archway and pops out much closer to the town center, right next to the café. There are markedly more tourists now that they are closer to the town centre. They just casually stroll around groups of loud tourists, as they stop briefly at special things like the water fountain near them and some older building down the road, as Matteo explains the story and history behind them to David. They often duck down narrow alleyways that tourists often overlook, as Matteo sees and remembers something, and brings David around to look and point them out, some hidden places with a good view, some places that had a significance to Matteo’s childhood memory, some less visited sights by tourists, all the way as they walk towards the town centre.

Matteo pulls David into this inconspicuous building that has David raise and eyebrow when he first enters, until he sees where they are. The artistic guy in David definitely jumped out, when he sees the handcraft tools and the products that are in various stages of completion. Some hanging around. It is a place where the bambagina paper is made. It is a kind of paper that is native to this area and has been made since the thirteenth century. It is thicker, softer and maybe more fragile than the paper people use these days, but it is also maybe more special, and sort of another thing with a cultural linkage that Matteo wants to share with David. He tells David as much.

“…it is also a kind of paper some people use for wedding invitations these days.” Matteo says, as he continues to introduce this kind of paper to David, only pausing when he turns and sees David looking at him with a tilted head.

“What?” He asks.

“Wedding invitations huh? Is that an indirect way for you to try to say something?” He says with a smirk.

Matteo smacks David’s arm and huffs. “Who says I’m marrying you?”

“I didn’t.” David shoots back without delay as his smirk grows bigger at how flustered Matteo is getting. He reaches for Matteo’s neck, carefully pulling out the necklace he is wearing just to show it to Matteo’s face, as if he does not know what he has on him. As if David is not wearing a necklace of the identical design beneath his shirt as well. Instead, he just yanks David closer so he can kiss him square on the lips. “Shut up.”

David is still smug when he pulls away. “If you say so.”

They eventually finally make it to the front of the town, at the Piazza Duomo in front of the Amalfi Cathedral, when it is way past lunch hours. They are not really hungry, so they instead stop at a gelato shop at the square to get a cone each, licking on them as they sit down on the steps leading up to the church, as Matteo tries to teach David what the different flavours are called in Italian through mouthfuls of gelato.

They climb the steps to the front of the elaborate façade of the church, unsurprisingly with quite a sizeable group of tourists milling around. He leads David up to the door of the church, pointing out them as the ones that are purportedly the original ones made in Constantinople by the Byzantines. He does not remember the stories behind the many elaborate decorations of the walls anymore, but he just points out the various features on the outside and inside, as David lets out a low whistle beside him when they enter. The insides of the cathedral is as elaborate as the outsides, the various arches and pillars, and even the roofs are lined with white, blue, gold and various other decorations. They also walk through a narrow passage to the side of the front of the cathedral, getting to the _Chiostro del Paradiso_, a palm tree garden surrounded by slender pillars and pointed arches that has a distinct Arab flair to it. David gets engrossed by the distinctly different architecture style, as he often does with historical building, and starts snooping and poking his head around to get a better look at things, as well as pulling out his camera to take pictures of the patterns.

After finally getting David to get going again and stopping for a brief lunch, they continue walking southwards, by now, no more buildings stand in front of them, as they can see the sea close in their horizons. After passing yet another Piazza and various tourist buses, they can see the Amalfi beach. Filled to the brim.

“This is unreal.” David mutters next to him. He tends to agree. Coastal regions in Italy like Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast have always been popular with tourists who prefer a more _local_ experience than the huge metropolitans of Rome, Milan or even Florence, though he does not seem to recall seeing so many tourists here. He has something up his sleeve though, and nudges David in the side.

“You want to swim?”

David scrunches his nose. “Obviously not with like a thousand people on the beach.” He is obviously being dramatic and exaggerating, but Matteo gets him. He flashes David a smile.

“We can go somewhere else tomorrow.”

“Hm, okay.” David agrees, as Matteo drags him along so they start walking out and alongside the shoreline of the city, past the various mooring points for boats, before getting to and start walking onto the breakwater, relatively away from the scrum of the majority of the tourists.

They stroll, hands clasped, along the breakwater, enjoying the sounds of the sea and wind, looking out to the vast empty seas, as well as the sights of Amalfi looking back from where they are. As they near the tip, they see a blond guy, who must be around their age, walking the other direction, eyeing them as they pass by. Matteo does not pay much attention to it, brushing it off, until he hears someone approaching, just as they stop and lean against the barriers.

“Excuse me…”

Both Matteo and David look over, and it is the same guy from moments before. Being the one more comfortable with human conversations in general, David takes over.

“How can we help you?”

It is only now that Matteo realises they are speaking German.

“I was wondering, are you David Schreibner?”

David raises his eyebrow. “Uh, yes?”

“Oh!” The guy reacts, notably more excited, “I am a fan of your films, can I have a picture with you?”

They have a selfie taken, all three of them, then the guy hangs around for a few moments talking to David about the films, before excusing himself and leaving them alone again.

“Popular.” Matteo comments.

“Shut up.”

They just sit there, on the concrete barriers of the breakwater, with few people around them, as David again takes pictures and draws, while the two of them chat quietly among themselves about everything – their work, Matteo’s grandparents, the city, the colour of the sea, even. Just anything and everything that comes to their mind.

…

“I swear the sea has the same colour as your eyes.”

“They don’t.”

“I know, because your eyes are much more beautiful.”

…

“So where is this other beach you are going to bring me to?”

“It is the town next door. Like a fifteen-minute walk. Only a couple hundred people live there.”

“We’re going to wake up earlier tomorrow just for that.”

“Please no.”

Matteo knows it is hopeless anyway.

* * *

**9 April 2025**

_Mittwoch 08:39_

David has more or less bundled Matteo into bed at night just to make sure he has enough sleep by the time he wakes up the next morning. If they are to go to a beach that does not look like the population of Italy are all visiting, he would very much prefer Matteo not to just fall asleep there on the beach. It was evidently much earlier than Matteo is used to though, as he had shifted around in bed while half on top of David and nuzzled his collarbone, trying everything he could to get David in the mood without saying anything out loud. David was having none of it though, and Matteo eventually gave up and just fell asleep on top of David, as it happens so often these days.

Waking up in the morning, David was again greeted with the sight of the blond shock of hair resting on his chest, as Matteo slept like a rock and probably have not moved from his position on top of David at all throughout the night. Matteo was so peaceful there, as David observed him openly, as he gets to do that being his boyfriend, and did so for quite a while, with a finger lightly stroking Matteo’s soft face, until he sees that it is half an hour before the time Matteo told him they should probably leave for the village next door.

Given the fact that Matteo is actually looking awake, albeit with hair falling into his eyes, proves that David made the right choices to just pull Matteo with him to bed without giving in to Matteo’s want to get _hot_ with him under the covers. Even he would have very much liked to have that as well, the beach is tempting as well.

They are both carrying a small backpack with them as David again follows Matteo through a bunch of inclines and alleyways. They stop briefly to look at the view overlooking the sea, which is no less stunning than every other time they have looked at it. He does not even mind it when Matteo tells him that they could have just walked a few minutes on the coastal road instead of doing this, because this is a sight that he just does not get tired of, especially not when it is probably one of the favourite places of his favourite person.

When they slip through another alleyway and suddenly are on top of the beach, David can see how there is literally just a handful of people on the beach, even though it is still dotted with deck chairs and umbrella, but the peace, space, as well as the scenery around the beach is definitely tempting. They descend onto the beach and rent a pair of chairs, settling down on them in nothing but loose swim shorts and towels, as David stretches out, relaxes, and welcomes the sea breeze that is hitting them.

After a while, David stands up from the chair and moves towards the sea.

“Are you coming with?”

Matteo lazily stretches out even further like a cat. “Later.”

David wades into the water, as he swims out and floats around the waters, enjoying the absolute peace and quiet of the environment, occasionally seeing something interesting off in the distance, and sometimes taking in the stunning scenery of the shoreline. He occasionally looks back at the beach, and after maybe a quarter of an hour, he sees that Matteo is not at their spot, though a few minutes later, after swimming off further out to look at the rocky cliffs off in the distance, he sees a blond mop of hair swimming towards him, before a pair of arms wrapping around his waist.

“Hey.” Matteo says as he not so subtly shakes his hair to flick all the water onto David’s face, he pushes his head away.

“What were you up to?”

Matteo smiles conspiratorially like he knows something David doesn’t, just to say, “nothing.”

He rolls his eyes and lets it slide nonetheless, as Matteo is most probably just up to some dumbassery that he is going to find out sooner or later anyway. They spend most of the morning and part of the afternoon just alternating hanging out on the beach, sort of tanning, as well as having fun in the sea. David, to be honest, could not have imagined, a few years ago, of himself having fun so carefreely on a beach as well as with someone that has stolen his heart. Somewhere along the lines, his first film happened, then Matteo happened, then his top surgery happened, and now this scenario which David would have laughed at you and said you are crazy if you have told him of that a few years ago is nothing but real, and David is savouring every single second of it. He swims a bit further out, to where Matteo is, just to wrap his arms around him and pulls Matteo into a sweet kiss. Matteo laughs delightedly at the sudden affection.

“What is that for?”

“Just wanted to kiss my cute and dumbass boyfriend in the middle of the sea. Nothing much.” David says.

Matteo pokes him in the stomach. “Mean.”

“Oh, is kissing you mean?” He asks challengingly.

“You are the dumbass.” Matteo says indignantly before closing the distance again.

They must have somehow picked up the habit of missing lunch hours somehow, as they have yet again done just that, when they have dried themselves out and changed back into their clothes, with the sun now hanging in the sky and slowly barbecuing everything underneath it as well as the beach growing a bit more busy, though nowhere as crowded as the other beaches in the likes of Amalfi or Positano.

David finally checks his phone as they are walking towards a restaurant right next to the beach. On Matteo’s Instagram, is a picture of the side profile of David in the sea, looking into the distance. There is also a caption. _Frutti di mare_. He thinks the words are familiar, though it does not hit him until they are seated at a table inside the restaurant. He snorts and rolls his eyes.

“What’s up?” Matteo asks innocently, raising his eyes from the menu.

“Did you just call me seafood?” David asks, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous Matteo is.

“Well,” Matteo starts and _leers_. He _leers_! “I mean, my favourite food happened to be in the sea at that moment.”

David has to use all his willpower to not groan out loud at Matteo’s thinly veiled _horniness_ for David, not that David does not know, nor that it is not reciprocated, but it’s just, really quite a Matteo thing of him to do, he supposes. At least their Instagram accounts are private.

That evening, in bed, Matteo literally _eats_ David out, and David had to slap his own hand over his mouth to not let Matteo’s grandparents hear what they are up to.

* * *

**12 April 2025**

_Samstag 18:41_

All the way they are driving back to Amalfi, with the sun hanging low in the sky after they have had a fun day in and around Salerno, he and David are joking about David being a king in a castle high up in the hills after Matteo has spent much of their visit there speaking exaggeratedly like he is a court advisor to the king and pointing out imaginary enemy ships approaching from the horizon. Matteo is now more or less suggesting David should make a film out of that, and David is in turn suggesting maybe _Matteo_ should play the king with his imaginations as well as exaggerated Italian-accented German he spoke while they were at the castle.

It is a bit funny, not that David knows, but the console game Matteo and _Peach_ is working on is an action-adventure game with a vampire that lives on a mountaintop castle just like the one they were at.

Matteo also tells David that he has finally annoyed his _nonni_ into letting him copy her secret recipe book so that Matteo can learn to make some of the dishes that he likes but has no knowledge of how to make, just like the sartù di riso they had a few days ago, and Matteo promised to make his fusion shakshuka risotto for them in exchange, and teach them how to make it if they like it.

He has not really paid attention, either, when they finally pull back up at his grandparents’ house, that there is another car parked in front of it, figuring it is probably a neighbour or maybe some tourists not respecting the city rules that reserve the spots for residents only. His grandmother is in the kitchen drinking tea when they get in, and Matteo goes over to wrap her in a quick hug in greeting. She hands over a neatly bundled of notebook that he sees contains copies of her recipes as well, though she gestures for him to sit down. He does so, while David wanders off back to the room that they have claimed for themselves to do whatever he is up to.

She takes another sip from her tea.

“Matteo,” she says seriously, and that sets Matteo on edge, as she rarely speaks like that. “I need to tell you something.”

He breaths, then says tentatively, “Okay?”

“Your father is in town today.”

His eyes widen, just as he hears the front door open, and he hears the voice of his grandfather sounding slightly exasperated, as well as another voice.

A voice he does not really want to hear.

His father.

“I just want to see him.” Matteo hears from the corridor.

Unlike David, who is very good at running, Matteo just gets rooted to the spot. He keeps staring at his grandmother, who grows more worried by the second.

“Matteo.”

He does not turn around to the source of the voice.

He hears footsteps.

“Leave him alone.” His grandmother says sharply.

“I’m sorry.” It is such a white lie, Matteo thinks.

“You’re not.” He says, still not looking at him. He is not going to let this _ruin_ his trip. “Not after so many years.”

Another set of footsteps approaches the kitchen.

“Am I intruding something?”

Only now, does Matteo turn around, avoiding his father and looking directly at David. One look at Matteo, and David is suddenly in front of him, holding his hands.

“Matteo, breathe with me.”

By the time he has calmed down, it is only him and David in the kitchen, and Matteo can hear the hint of his grandparents in hushed conversation, though he cannot make out what they are saying. David wordlessly brings Matteo back to their room and bundles him into bed without a word, then slips into bed next to him.

“Okay if I hug you?”

Matteo nods, and a pair of strong arms wraps around him, grounding him. He falls asleep in David’s embrace.

* * *

**13 April 2025**

_Sonntag 09:01_

He wakes up to David playing with his hair, and blindly tries to bite his fingers, only to have his cheek pinched. The world outside is not even that bright yet, but given how early they have gone to bed the evening before, plus the fact that they did not even have dinner, would explain a lot why he is awake already. He feels better, waking up, and if he does not think about the particular encounter the evening before.

They laze for a while in bed until their hunger drives them out of bed, and David hangs around next to Matteo while he whips up some pancakes for themselves. David steals a piece of pancake out of the plate while Matteo is still making a few more, and he yells in mock offence as David scurries away, stuffing his face with the pancake.

They eventually settles at the table in the kitchen, as David talks about a lot of things that comes to mind, like his theories about the history of some of the towns here, his view on the aesthetics of how these places are built, as well as more general things like vampires and aliens, drawing Matteo into wild conversations and thought exercises to pull his mind off the issue.

That is, until the recipe book _nonni_ gave him last night catches his eye, now tugged up in the corner of the table, next to the little table plant which he is quite sure David has talked to _nonni_ about at some point. More specifically, a piece of paper tucked into the notebook carelessly, which Matteo is sure is not yet another recipe. His sudden silence and gaze seem to gain David’s attention, as he feels David grabbing his hand.

“You okay?”

He nods. Then he reaches out to pull the piece of paper out and unfolds it.

> _Matteo:_
> 
> _I know there is nothing I can do to make up to you so many years after that happened. I meant it when I said I am sorry, and I can understand that you do not accept it. I have done many things wrong in my life and failed you and your mother. It is good to know that you are doing well in your life, with someone you love. Hope your mother is doing better as well. Sorry for insisting to see you, I should have thought better._
> 
> _Papa_

He just sorts of sat there in a daze for a while, and the next thing he knows, David is standing next to him and holding him. 

They just hang out in the living room, snuggling up against each other, losing track of time. His grandparents pop into the living room some time later, and David briefly leaves him alone and heads into the kitchen, presumably to do something about Matteo’s pancakes or something. He has no idea, nor has he any idea about how exactly David and his grandparents are communicating.

They just sort of hang out in and around his grandparents’ home for the day. After a while, he goes for a short walk with David among the complex alleyways to clear his mind as well as letting David know about the note. For lunch, he cooks the shakshuka risotto Matteo promised to make for his grandparents, while his grandmother comes up with a dish of baked ravioli with cheese that is absolutely heavenly. Between the gaps in time, Matteo tries to teach David some Italian again to no avail, and Matteo also helps his grandmother with making some homemade pasta; and for the evening, they break out a bottle of limoncello or three again, as they again embark on the odd animated conversation-ish thing they have going on.

* * *

**17 April 2025**

_Donnerstag_

After a few more days of lingering on the Amalfi Coast, they finally set off for the south. They have Airbnb’s or hotels lined up for every place they are visiting, so they slide seamlessly from one place to the next as they stroll their way around the _boot_ of Italy at a leisurely pace. On their way, they stop at a city known as Cosenza, which is rich in culture and art, right up in David’s alley. They stop between various museums and theatres; churches and castles, as they take in the unique sights. There are also various statutes and sculptures on display in various piazzas and the like, and David’s camera roll may have contained quite a handful of pictures of Matteo mimicking the postures of some of those inanimate objects. They also stroll around and take in the scenery of the old town, as this place has a weird feeling of city meeting rural, old meeting new, a feeling of juxtaposition of various parts of the city that is quite special. Several rivers flowing through and joining together near the middle of the city, plus the rugged terrain in the surroundings must have contributed to this perception. He and Matteo also have strolled along the very shallow Crati river and admiring the distinct look and feel of this place. David takes a picture at one of the bends of the river, showing the slightly sparse buildings and quiet streets on its banks, with the rugged terrain and rolling clouds in its background – a good reference for when he wants to sketch this, and maybe a good place to consider if he ever needs to film something at a place like this.

He stared at Matteo like he has grown two heads back when they were planning, when this leg of the trip materialised out of thin air, but after hopping a town or two, they find themselves at Villa San Giovanni, at the literal tip of the _boot_, and taking a car ferry across to Messina. It was both his and Matteo’s first time taking a car ferry, so that was quite a bit of a surreal experience. When it comes to the actual exploring part of Sicily, once they get their foot on the ground, so to speak, there is not a slither of regret from both of them for biting the bullet and deciding on including it, as they see some of the best Greek and Roman ruins on the island, like the _Valle dei Templi_ in Agrigento, which hosts one of if not the best sites of Greek art and architecture, which David would admit had him absolutely freak out, as the art hoe inside him latched onto them intensely, while Matteo just smiles and follows him around, admiring the wonders and maybe also having fun seeing David so _excited_. While neither of them is a big fan of religion, there is no way they can escape admitting that they were absolutely mesmerised by the churches in Palermo that are filled with mosaics, as well as possessing an Arabic flair to their construction. Alongside the plethora of Greek sites and interesting architecture they have seen, like the Sicilian Baroque towns in Ragusa and Modica, there is also the more cultural side of things as they see lots of Sicilian puppets being sold, that David had to convince Matteo not to buy one lest it haunts their flat. They find themselves at one of the most beautiful beaches in San Vito Lo Capo as well. With soft white sand, a long shoreline and numerous palm trees in their surroundings and ample space despite quite a significant number of tourists. Not that David would say it out loud, but just the sand part establishes this beach as superior to the ones on the Amalfi Coast. Although by the looks of it, Matteo also agrees, as they again spent another beach day on the tip of Sicily.

After circling around the largest island in the Mediterranean, they are back on the mainland, and they take an alternative routing around the south, as they stop at places like Catanzaro, where they hang out in various huge parks, gape at a huge bridge that crosses a valley connecting the old town with surrounding areas, as well as seeing various beautiful natural landscape, like the _Castaca Campanaro_ waterfall deep inside a forest. They also stop at Matera, as its ancient town features cave dwellings dug into rocks a long time ago, and David finds it picturesque and unique, with how ancient they look (and are). He also knows of a long list of films that have chosen this place as a backdrop for their productions that crosses genres and audiences. Going from niche religious films to mainstream franchise films, there have been some productions that chose this unique place as their backdrop. David both admires the history in this place and looks for hints of how the films were madee, while Matteo suddenly turns into a history nerd and goes off about the place possibly being the first human-inhabited place in Italy. They land themselves somewhere high in the _Sassi_, surrounded by numerous of these haphazard ancient dwellings, and it is definitely something unique that they uncover as they spontaneously stop at this place.

After days of hopping between small towns tucked away in the mountainous landscape, they finally get to Bari, on the coast of the Adriatic. Being back in a larger metropolis, Matteo pulls David along to sample various restaurants and gelatos that they have sort of missed out on. (They haven’t really, it is just they had fewer opportunities getting what they wanted at the exact moment.) Though they also find the opportunity to try out some Barese Italian food, like a lamb-based meat sauce that goes with their pasta, and a different shaped pasta that is apparently originated from the region. They also snoop around streets and alleys together, both being new to the city and looking for interesting things to see and learn about, stumbling upon historical old theatres, some aqueducts, castles built by Germanic kings, countless of churches. They stroll with their hands linked, without knowledge of where they are going, but with the purpose of exploring. The old part of the city is like a maze of alleyways, extremely narrow between buildings, and they eventually end up in yet another _slightly wider_ alleyway through an archway, just the two of them, surrounded by rustic old buildings. Matteo is adamant that they have been through this alley already. David chuckles and tugs Matteo closer, resting his forehead against Matteo’s.

“Guess we are lost, huh?”

“Guess so.”

“Still the best place in the world with you here.” He says with a tiny smile.

His smile grows wider, when he sees a faint hint of pink growing on Matteo’s cheeks. Instead of saying something snarky that probably ruins the moment in response, Matteo closes the gap between them, as they sway lightly, lips linked, hands gripping each other’s hips, their necklace-rings centimetres from each other, without a single person in their vicinity. And still lost. But it does not matter. With David’s favourite person in the world next to him, they can explore together, marvel at things together, get lost together and have fun together. Beyond his obvious love for film and art, Matteo is the ingredient that makes every facet of life enjoyable.

* * *

**9 May 2025**

_Freitag 15:47_

On their way back to Naples to fly back home, they make a detour down the coastal road again to stop at Amalfi to see Matteo’s grandparents again, coinciding with a few younger cousins that Matteo has not seen or heard from in years. He pulls them into hugs in greeting as he internally wondered how come they have grown up so quickly when his last memories of them were of them climbing rocks on the beach or something. He just chats with them, catching up with what they have been up to recently, as well as proudly showing off David as his boyfriend and not so subtly gushing about him while David stands there looking slightly confused due to his command of Italian, or the lack thereof. He joins forces with his grandma, making his Pasta alla Luigi to go with the dishes she is making for the crowd for that evening, and all the way into late in the evening, they are all hanging out in the spacious living room talking about things, while Matteo is pressed up against David, sitting among the group. It is almost as if David has always been here, and if not, then he is readily accepted into the group. Matteo likes the idea of this.

When they leave the next morning, his _nonnie_ holds his face and tells him to call and visit more, and that David should definitely come along. A wide smile cracks on David’s face when Matteo tells him as much. Matteo knows they would definitely come back to Italy more frequently in the future.

* * *

**11 May 2025**

_Sonntag 11:37_

In the meantime, as Matteo sits lazily in the chair on the balcony of their flat in Berlin, Matteo wonders why he is still so pale after hanging out for days on beaches in Italy, while David’s skin has gained a tan that low key makes his mouth water. On the more productive side of things, he plots his plan to help David improve his Italian, so he could surprise his family the next time they head there, as well as let them connect even better beyond single words and wild gestures.

**Author's Note:**

> HMU at [davenziabend.tumblr.com](https://davenziabend.tumblr.com)  
Comments very much appreciated!


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